I was on a journey to do something different in the summer of 2009, because I am overweight and have not been physically active for awhile. I I gave up my house and moved to Portland, Oregon in May 2011 because I have always wanted to live there. There, I found out that I had cancer in several places and had surgeries to remove them. I am still fighting and living each day as it comes. I have changed many things I was doing. It's a journey.

Friday, September 25, 2009

September 25, 2009 'Fasting Again'

I have been writing about fasting and the book, "Art of the Inner Meal: Eating as a Spiritual Path" by Donald Altman. It was interesting, but I had no intention of fasting after my last experience with fasting about 15 years ago. I had been very ill and had some pretty severe symptoms of migraines, severe dizziness and general unwellness. Then the nurse practitioner that I still see today told me that I should consider alternative medicine for the clinic had given me a series of tests that showed nothing. I meditated for a while and the answer that came up with was a fast.

Someone told me that people who go on a fast need to do it with supervision and to take a certain liquid that gave them all of the things they need in their diet. I went to the health food store and got it. Then for me, it was amazing that all of my symptoms disappeared almost immediately. I went to the library and bought a book about finding food that can make you sick and started to experiment with different food groups. I thought for sure that I was allergic to milk because that was the only one I had ever heard about. I then had some milk and some cheese and nothing happened.

It was in the middle of this that I got so sick of drinking my meals that I decided to eat a whole wheat cracker that I had in the door of my refrigerator. I took one bite and ended up on the floor with the symptoms that had disappeared except they had come back with a vengeanence. I was surprised. I waited for a few days going back on the fast and then took another bite and this time sitting down and the same thing happened. That is when I got more books out of the library and started to read about wheat allergy and then graduated to celiac disease. When I read the symptoms, I recognized my self and was surprised that doctors had not picked up on it. It was so obvious. I have an intolerance to gluten.

During the years, I have had cancer and luck has been with me. A few years ago, I had surgery for ovarian cancer which has killed so many women. All of the biopsies showed negative but the doctor thought I should have the surgery anyhow. I trusted him although I did not want the surgery. I am so glad I had the surgery because not only did I have the cancer but I had two kinds.

The medical care at the hospital was excellent, but the care itself was the pits. I could not get the dietition to give me any food but jello. I explained that I was not used to the sugar and just wanted some scrambled eggs and some gluten free food. I could not get it. I got sugared drinks and jello. By the time I got my blood test, my sugar level was high and I was classified as diabetic.

Now, ever six months I have to fast for a blood test for sugar. I have not been having a high blood sugar count, but I still have to get tested. I also have to take my shoes off and have my feet looked at every time I have a doctor's appointment.

I do a lot more fasting than I realize. When I took my blood test, I went to Starbucks and and got a low carb Vivanno and a Venti hot coffee with half and half. I did not get it until noon, but I went to the park and drank it there. It started to get hot and the air was not clear as there was a fire somewhere and smoke was everywhere so the mountains were barely visible. In the past, I would have bought myself breakfast or lunch. I really wasn't all that hungry. I was feeling pretty good after weighing myself and seeing that my weight had dropped. I did not expect that.